Welcome to another edition of YWSS.
Firstly, let's take care of some business.
An editorial correction: In my previous asshole tearing, I incorrectly referred to Humon, the author of Hel... excuse me, Scandinavia and the World, as "him." I do apologize for this oversight, and while the correct pronoun for her is "she", she's still, as the Something Awful unregistered wordfilter so eloquently puts it "A rear end in a top hat." Except without the top hat. More of "A rear and in a rear end" so to speak. A reverse human centipede.
Secondly, I recently became aware of Fresh Epics, which is what both SATW as well as Dobson's oh-so-seminal SYAC gets published. Now I won't say anything about the fellow that runs the site, no matter what dirt people might dig up on him, he seems like a well-intentioned if misguided fellow.
But let's get through the contents of the general Fresh Epics, and tear them a new asshole. Or at least see what they are worth, shall we?
Scandinavia and the World - We've talked about this at length. No need to repeat myself here.
Romantically Apocalyptic - The first comic under Fresh Epics which isn't crap. Do you remember Gone with the Blastwave? Apocalyptic gives off very strong vibes of Blastwave. But you know what, there isn't anything wrong with it. The artist(s) really does make an effort to deliver a very stylish and visually appealing comic, and succeeds smashingly. The writing, while not particularly outstanding, is solid and engaging, and there are a number of interesting ideas peppered throughout the comic. And it's not particularly long. Read it.
So You're a Cartoonist - Dobson. And I refuse to sully my precious reviewer integrity. Actually more people have written about Dobson, his work, etc, at great length, and I have nothing more to add except that he's a hack of the lowest order.
Stupid Fox - The second comic from the Fresh Epics label which is actually downright awesome. And no matter what anybody may tell you, it's not about furries. Simplistic, quick, cute, doesn't overstay its welcome. Clocking in at about 70 pages, it's a quick read, and most of it is completely textless, it perfects the silent art form, and is genuinly funny, and certain strips will tug at your heartstrings like few comics will. Congratulations Emily, you've created a work of art that will emotionally touch people. I wish you and your comic the best.
Acero Tiburon - Poor Animeish art, though there are signs that the author is trying to improve. The writing is poor. It's fairly hard to actively hate Acero Tiburon though. It has that feel of a webcomic stuck in the early 2000s, back when the art of webcomicry was relatively young and people were just getting into it. Suffers fairly hard from LOLMONKEYCHEESE random humor which is hard to justify these days. Other comics have done it before and other comics have done it better. Honestly, it offers nothing original which is probably the worst thing about it.
Neils - If Scandinavia and the World didn't prove that Humon was an ignorant racist piece of shit, then this certainly at minimum upholds this notion. Features rape as a joke and racism. Also Humon can't draw a gun to save her life, which leads me to the thought that she probably doesn't actually do much of research on anything. Is fairly disturbing.
Manala Next Door - Humon does mythology. Had the potential to be her least offensive work, but no Humon is off on her poorly researched mythological interactions. Mythological Hetalia Yay! (It's pretty terrible).
Boggart - Dadaist humor with a fat cat. Much better than I make it sound. The third (and last) of the Fresh Epics line to not suck. It might not be everybody's cup of tea, (it really doesn't do much for me), but I can see how it's good, and to the right audience would be quite appealing.
Alex Ze Pirate - Dobson.
Fresh Epics, aside from having a terrible name also has one thing going for it. The good comics? They are good. But the bad comics? They're terrible. And the bland? They are bland to an extent that makes Garfield look like a work of exciting ballet. If you can stomach ignoring Dobson and Humon, there's a few good things in there. Boggart and Romantically Apocalyptic at minimum deserve a skim through. Stupidfox is just an awesome comic. Everything else though? Pass.
I really do hope that the good webcomic authors of this group form up into their own group and leave Fresh Epics behind. There's quality to be hand, and you don't need to associate with terrible artists or people to get your name out there.
Besides, this is 2012. Why the FUCK do most of these comics not have a "First" button? Whoever coded these sites, (probably the owner of FE) is a lazy sonovabitch.
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